this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2025
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Language Learning

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How's your language learning going this week? - Weekly thread (sopuli.xyz)
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by Lazycog@sopuli.xyz to c/languagelearning@sopuli.xyz
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This week I only did duolingo, I was incredibly busy :(

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[–] Litebit@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Finally completed "La Trilogie Des Jumeaux" a week ago. Recently found the next book to read, "Hunger Game" in french, this book has audio book version too so I don't have to rely on TTS audio. 300k+ words for whole series so should keep me busy.

Also started with a tutor this week, He said my reading comprehension is very good, I was understanding all the passage I had to read/speak. I was also able to understand everything he was saying in french too, so I think all that reading/listening to podcast/books does have some benefit.

Tutor started me on material meant for upper A1 since my other areas like writing, speaking and grammar are lacking. According to tutor all the important grammar stuff will done by A2 level. Hopefully by 4 months should be A2. Maybe just to confirm this, I will take a test like DELF A2.

I am also wondering if I should add another tutor, someone cheaper just for speaking practice, on normal everyday topics, 30mins 3-4x per week. I feel like one can progress in speaking very fast, mainly because compared to reading, speaking doesn't seems to require a lot of fancy vocabulary or tenses like books. Writers in books always like to use words and tenses that I would never use while speaking. The amount of knowledge require seems a lot less for speaking. it feels like it is mostly practice and having someone to correct you.

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 2 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Way to go Congratz!! Does the hunger game book have anything to do with "hunger games" book trilogy? Such a good read too.

That is super interesting, I heard the same in german class: by end of A2 most of the grammar should be done.

If you can afford a second tutor just for conversations I'd say do it! I realized that I can study endlessly but real conversation is only getting easier by real practice. Not only listening but having a nice flow yourself is also something that needs to be practiced.

You are such a good example of truly motivated and inspiring learner. Hope to hear how it goes with the study material!

[–] Litebit@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Thks, yea, same hunger games trilogy. All 3 books have audio, too. 30hrs+ total. https://www.audible.co.uk/series/Hunger-Games-French-Audiobooks/B01LZE1F3A

Ok then, it seems like A2 is the important milestone i have to reach, I will just clear it officially and do the test before year ends.

Maybe in a couple of weeks, i will add a conversation only tutor. I think even short, 30 minutes of chit-chat each day will be good if budget allows. It will be like having a phone call with a friend.

You are right, practice is key. What ever learning method used initially (grammar, CI, vocab, shadowing, or a mixed approach and etc), in the end there will less and less useful things to learn and it become all about massive amount of practice and using language. Can't escape from practice. Massive practicing/using should be a method by itself. Get good at reading by practicing more reading native content, get good at speaking by practicing more speaking with native and etc.

I think sometime especially in the early days I was wasting time looking for the best or fastest method, it is probably just a form of procrastinating from doing massive practice.

This weekly thread is actually keeping me consistent and motivated, too lol. I will update my progress.

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 2 points 4 hours ago

That's awesome. I've read the hunger games trilogy in my native language and they were absolutely brilliant. Might have to give it a try in my target language with audio too!

Sounds like a good goal with the A2 by the end of the year, looking forward to read here how it is going! And a phone call sounds really nice, I noticed at my workplace there is someone practicing their british english that way on their lunchbreaks (I was wondering why they are just repeating mundane stuff in british accent and realized this must be it).

And same. I actually kept myself from progressing by being stuck on "how to progress, how to optimize learning, what do I need..." etc. Best method has been to just dive into the most obvious stuff and just practicing without overthinking. This is why I buy study books: they have a clear path for learning that you can follow.

And I'm glad to hear that! We'll keep the weekly threads going - it's an accountability thing for me and reminds me on bad weeks to not give up (you guys are inspiring too).

[–] tkk13909@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Found a bunch of Italian music to jam to!

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago

Italian music is awesome! Italian is not my target language but I still listen to italian songs!

[–] rapidviperwiper@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Not a ton of progress, but I had 2 lessons this week with my tutor on Preply (Italian). Need to continue to expand my vocabulary

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago

I hope the tutor keeps you motivated! Two lessons is more than zero and language learning is a long game, no hurry :)

I can relate with the last sentence.. I still bump into new words and get all disoriented in a conversation..

[–] QuantumTickle@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

This week Duolingo pissed me off to the point I canceled my subscription.

That "Explain My Mistake" button will ask for more money than I'm already paying them. An education app says I need to pay more than I'm already paying so they can teach me? With AI?!? What a scam.

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 days ago

Wtf.. I haven't had this yet. But I've also been considering cancelling my subscription because even with a paid subscription some things are just designed to eat up gems and encourage you to buy them..

[–] emb@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's so frustrating how every subscription service will do this.

They'll provide some good value for a while. Then after a decent number of people are hooked, it's upsell upsell upsell. Props for cancelling and not just being OK with that!

What are you learning with instead now?

[–] QuantumTickle@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I've paid by the year so I have until next April to find something. Maybe Babbel? I don't know yet.

[–] emb@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

I really like that they, and some of the other big paid ones, offer lifetime. I haven't tried it, but I'm at least curious.

Looks like you're learning Japanese, so rest assured there are a ton of resources out there to choose from. Sometimes the hard part is narrowing it down.

[–] gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com 5 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Completely fell off on vocab, so my grammar workbook (Russian) is harder to get through and I'm feeling frustrated. I really want to be able to read a grade 1 reader with few to no mistakes or unfamiliar words by winter or spring but I think I'm really off track.

Obviously, the solution is to spend more time listening to native speakers and learning vocab, but I'm in a rut. I've been exposed to about 6k words but I have a hard time with recall and sentence construction. Right now I feel good about present tense but past tense is a mess.

Anyone got some tips for motivation?

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Russian is hard, remember that! You have done a ton of progress. I know how that feels and you should know its completely normal.

I don't know specifically about russian, but I recently went "back" and just bought a book from a lower level and did the exercises everyday after work. I feel more confident and learned some words that I had somehow ignored or missed.

Might not be feasible for you, but my advice is just exercising, looking up words you don't know, write a short sentence with a new word (on paper, with a pen) and if you are missing some grammar rules you know of, look that up too.

Language learning as an adult is tough, but with discipline you'll get through.

[–] gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, I think what I need to do is start another workbook; I have one more focused on exercises that I haven't taken a good look at yet. The one I'm using now is good (at least it seems to be), but maybe following a few different approaches at once will give me a bit of a "lightbulb moment" with grammar.

Thanks for your help, I think your suggestion about doing impromptu exercises on paper is great and I'll be trying it out.

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago

Glad to hear I was able to offer something!

Please don't give up, it's usually when frustration is at its highest that we have actually made the most progress. It's just that you understand the language bit more now but you get frustrated by the more difficult parts of the language.

The initial fun of learning common phrases and words wears off quickly but at some point you'll get that back once you reach a certain level.

[–] emb@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

When I'm frustrated with immersion, I try to shift my focus from understand-most-of-it to pick-out-something I do understand. From that perspective, I do OK, recognizing some common word pretty often. It's not much, but I'll take any small win I can get. On the flip side, maybe pick out certain words that give you trouble and focus on why.

Also, try going back to easier/repeat material. Going back a few chapters in the book or rewatching beginner videos or rereading level 0 graded readers until you've practically memorized them. I tend to find some material I can look at and say 'this used to be hard, I am making some progress at least!'

Motivation is just hard though, good luck!

As someone who's started and stopped a bunch, I'd say remember the cliche: "The best time to do it was 10 years ago. The second best time is now." Don't let any setbacks distract you from making progress. That effort now opens up future possibilities.

[–] zero_spelled_with_an_ecks@programming.dev 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Found a game I own has text and audio in my target language, so it's been a bit more fun this week. The vocab might not be so useful, but I'm getting use out of the words and their pronunciation being together.

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago

That's awesome! I still think RuneScape really helped me expand my english vocabulary. As a kid I was clicking on everything and visual feedback helped remembering words.

[–] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Mostly all I do is Duolingo. I did however get a new Finnish word this week: neuloa, to knit.

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Duolingo's Finnish course is pushing propaganda, not everyone in Finland is a wizard! Or maybe I was left without an invitation to wizard school ...

[–] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Lazycog ei ole velhoa! Onko hän edes suomalainen?

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago

En ole :( Olen tylsä tonttu :(